Paradox
by Margirli13
Summary: Bella is going to high school for the first time as a vampire. On top of that, a seemingly average hunt in the Cullens' new hometown broadens the horizons of their supernatural world.
1. Chapter One Deja Vu

_Chapter One—Déjà Vu_

"Déjà vu" I said quietly as we walked in the door of the small, brick school. It smelled like a school, erasers, brick, cheap cleaning supplies, wood shavings from pencil sharpeners, whiteboard markers…and human, the undeniably strong, burning scent of human washed through the other scents, permeating them, tainting them. Extreme self-control, and years of practice or not, the concentrated scent of so many humans made my mouth fill with venom, and my head spin. Jasper threw me a sympathetic half-smile. They were all staring at us as we all trooped silently into the office. It reminded me of my first day at forks high school, the day I remembered as the day I first saw Edward Cullen. I felt a warm glowing rising inside of me as I glanced at him, and smiled. He was looking back.

Jasper cleared his throat, nodding to the mousey-looking receptionist. She was wearing brown reading glasses on the tip of her nose. The kind with a beaded chain so she could take them off and place them around her neck when she wasn't using them

"Can I help you?" she asked in a very fittingly-mousy manner, looking at us over the edge of her glasses.

Edward stepped forward, acting, as usual, as our unofficial spokesperson.

"We are the Cullen family. We were told to stop by the office first on our first day of school", Edward's musical voice made the simple words sound like a song. The secretary, whose nameplate said "Ms. Kirtchner" removed her glasses, folding them up, and slowly allowing her beaded chain to support their weight like a truly ugly necklace. Edward made a soft noise in his nose, a slight huff of amusement. I knew my family all heard it, but I doubted that Ms. Kirtchner did. I wondered what the secretary could be thinking that made Edward want to laugh.

"Of course, I have your schedules right here, and we will need some paperwork filled out. The rest of the students should be receiving these in Homeroom right now, but since you're all here now, I'll just give them to you." She smoothly pulled several brightly-colored sheets of paper out of a file drawer that she slid open under her desk. "This is just your basic health form, we need to know any medications you might be taking, any food allergies, and things like that. The puce form is the emergency contact information form, and the goldenrod is our release to attend all field trips for the year". Ms. Kirchner showed the papers to Edward, pointing and explaining as if we all hadn't been to kindergarten. Now I thought about it Renesmee never _had_ actually gone to Kindergarten. But then again, she had never needed it. Not that she, or any of us really needed High School at this point either, but we had found a town nearly as rainy as Forks, and it would be worthwhile to stay here as long as possible.

While I was brooding over this, Edward had collected all the papers, and promised to return them tomorrow with our "parents"' signatures, Renesmee brushed the back of my hand lightly with hers, as if by accident, to show me her amusement. Her real parents were right here and could sign all of that insane paperwork, and be done with it.

"Our schedules, Ms. Kirtchner?" asked Edward in his "confused" voice.

"Right. Here you are, Emmet, Alice, and Bella Cullen." She read off, holding the schedules out. Edward distributed them to their rightful owners.

Ms. Kirtchner was apparently looking for more schedules with the name "Cullen" on them. She seemed quite distraught by the fact that she could not find something. I was not surprised. Her office was spick and span. She must try to keep it perfect, keep everything perfect all the time.

"The rest of us are under Masens and Hales"

"Excuse me?" asked Ms. Kirtchner, putting her glasses back on. Fairly quickly too, for a human.

"I believe our father spoke with you about this upon our admittance into the school" replied Edward.

"Oh, yes of course, you would be the foster children as well", replied Ms. Kirtchner, the muscles in her face relaxing as she obviously remembered the phone conversations with Carlisle and Esme.

"Here we are Hale, Rosalie, and Jasper, and Masen Edward and Ren-Ren ess mee" she finished, passing more papers for Edward to distribute.

Jacob cleared his throat.

"I seem to have one more, would you be …Black, Jacob?" asked Ms. Kirtchner, looking at the one student not holding a crisp new schedule in his hands. She looked surprised at his apparent age. Jacob was a monster, he looked older by far than he was supposed to be, but he had absolutely refused to allow Renesmee to go to school for the first time all by herself with only her doting and wildly overprotective parents, aunts and uncles to watch over her. I had teased him about it, telling him he was more overprotective than Edward, but Jacob just grinned and shrugged giving me his patented, Jacob Black "Sure, sure".

Jacob only nodded and grunted when Ms. Kirtchner called his name. He was being uncharacteristically stoic. Maybe it was the experience of going to high school for a second time, this time as a part of a family of vampires. Edward passed him the paper wordlessly.

"Alright, you're all set, just remember to have those forms in to me by the end of the week with your parents' signature" she warned us. Edward had the stack of multicolored forms. That would take a few minutes to get through, even with vampire speed. I was glad I was not Carlisle, who would, undoubtedly be filling out those forms.

We trooped out of the office again. After the door shut, when we ought to have been out of hearing range, I heard Ms. Kirtchner say "What a strange bunch of kids. So silent for teenagers" I laughed softly. I wasn't the only one. We all had lockers assigned to us. It was printed along with the combination on the top of our schedules. The lockers were lining the hallway outside of the office, so it wasn't hard to find them. They were semi-alphabetical, so the "Cullens" and "Hales" and "Masens" lockers were in clumps. The lone Black's locker was close to the three Cullens' lockers.

Edward and I had purposely signed up for the exact same classes. Naturally, we were in the exact same classes—except for homeroom. Unfortunately, that was by alphabet, and we would be split up by "official" last name again. I sighed as I hung the bag Alice had purchased for me in my new locker. I snatched my perfect set of props, a notebook, my pencil case, and a folder, all completely color-coordinated, before shutting my locker swiftly. The lockers were crowded. Extreme self-control or not, it was still uncomfortable to be packed n so closely with so many warm, moist, beating hearts, all juicy with fresh blood. I cut myself off there. That train of thought was _not_ going to help me resist. The rest of my family was already finished with their lockers as well—even Renesmee, who had never opened a locker before in her life. To be fair, Edward had muttered directions under his breath so low no human could possibly even dream of hearing.

We regrouped and trooped off through the halls to split off into subdivisions at our various homerooms. I felt a little sorry for Jacob, heading into the A/B Section all by himself. On the other hand, he had refused to be a Cullen with the rest of us. He claimed it was because he looked too different to possibly be related to us. Of course, as we were "adopted" it didn't matter, but we all knew it was because he was still a little uncomfortable with the idea of completely belonging to a _coven_, so Carlisle didn't press the matter. Besides, it wasn't like Jacob could use the moral support during homeroom, pretending that the scent of his classmates did not make his mouth water, and pretending that he was human.

Next door, at the C-E's Alice, Emmett, and I broke off, and the other four continued. Wanting to keep some sort of connection with them, I expanded my shield to follow them through the hallway. I expanded it until I felt and tasted their sparks, and then I made sure they were in their classrooms safe. Not that I was expecting to run into much danger in a high School, but hey, _Forks_ had been dangerous for me. What were the possibilities here? On the other hand, I was much better equipped to deal with danger than I had been on my last trip though High School.

I watched Edward walk away with Renesmee, Rosalie, and Jasper, down the hall, until he was out of my sight. Alice waited until they were out of sight, and then tugged on my arm, leading me out of the doorway, into the classroom. Yet again, I was glad that I had always had a great deal of talent resisting the smell of human blood.

The students were all pumped up today—excited, though they'd never admit it, for the first day of class. I could almost taste the adrenaline in their blood. My throat became a furnace within three fourths of a second of entering homeroom.

As Alice, Emmet, and I walked across the room to find a set of empty desks, the students seemed to notice our presence in the room for the first time. And they stared. Of course they stared. How could they not? Not only had three gorgeous immortals (though they did not know we were immortal) just walked into the room, we were also wearing Alice's idea of school clothes.

I wore them, but under two conditions. First, I chose my own clothes when we were not in school (with a few exceptions) and I told Alice I did _not_ want to know how much she had spent on them. This was after I found out how much the shoes alone had cost. My outfit probably cost more than my Ferrari. I shuddered and tried to think of something else.


	2. Chapter Two Sex Ed

_Chapter Two—Sex Ed_

"Well, are you ready for your first day of school, little sister?" teased Emmet, ruffling my long, brown hair and he, Alice, and I sat down in a row of three desks in the back of the room, with me in the middle. I smiled. Emmett always knew how to ease tension. Sometimes he was almost as good as Jasper.

"Just tell me if you run into any bullies, big brother" I teased back. Alice laughed.

"Seriously, though, I'm not sure if I can do this" I added.

"What was that miss super-self-control?" asked Emmet.

"_Emmet_" I hissed, "Shhhh". Emmet rolled his eyes.

"No one is even listening"

Alice shook her spiky head. "They weren't that time, but you could be a little quieter Emmet. And Bella, you're going to be fine. You will have a perfectly normal day"

"That's comforting, but that's not actually what I meant". Of course, that would be the natural conclusion for my family to jump to. After all, I was still a relatively young vampire, and I was now suddenly surrounded by a swarm of pulsing, warm, blood-filled, humans. It would be natural for me to have trouble not drinking their blood, except it was me. And my family knew me.

"What _did_ you mean then? I can't see _any_ trouble" Alice muttered, soft enough that the humans sitting down around us would not hear.

"I'm just a little nervous—starting a new school, and all. It's just; I've never done this before, with so many people. I mean, what if someone notices" I added the last half in a whisper so low that even the disgustingly, hopeful-looking human boy who had sat down in behind me had no hope of hearing. No one can whisper like a vampire. Still, I glanced nervously, but with careful slowness, around the entire room, to make sure none of the avidly-staring humans had noticed anything unusual about what I was saying.

"I told you, Bella, today is going to be _perfect _for _everyone_" said Alice, patting my arm reassuringly.

I accepted Alice's assurance, also realizing she wasn't just looking ahead for me.

"Thanks, Alice"

Just then, a new set of footsteps, heavier and slower, than the dragging feet, and clicking heels of the lithe young high school students stopped at the door, and swung open. The chatter ceased to be general, and turned into a hubbub of welcome, in varying degrees of enthusiasm.

The teacher had entered the room.

"Alright! Let's get started here!" called the teacher, plunking a stack of small, spiral notebooks down on her desk at the front of the room, sending a wash of fresh plastic scent over the room, making the scent of human a bit more bearable.

"Emmy, please hand these out to everyone" began the short, stocky woman, with short, curly blonde hair, and a purple blouse as a girl with caramel-colored hair and a shirt with a piano on it jumped up to take the stack of spiral notebooks and hand them out to the class.

"We have three new students in our homeroom this year, for those of you don't know, I am Mrs. Smith. Why don't we go around the room and say our names and one interesting fact about ourselves. Would you three like to start, since you're new?"

Mrs. Smith smiled encouragingly. I really hated the "introduce yourself" thing, but Mrs. Smith was trying to be nice. I sighed under my breath as Alice, Emmet and I stood up. Emmet snickered, hearing my sigh. A tiny hiss escaped me as Alice began.

"I'm Alice Cullen, and an interesting fact about me is that I sometimes design clothes."

"Cool, did you make what you're wearing right now?" exclaimed a girl with short sandy brown hair in the front row, near Mrs. Smith.

Alice shook her head no. Actually, she had designed her outfit today. It was one of the few outfits she had not thrown out after one use.

"I'm Emmet Cullen, and an interesting thing about me, is I can bench press 300 pounds."

"So can I" I muttered under my breath, Emmett winked. I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, man!" called a boy in a baseball cap, drawing the teacher's attention.

"Jason, no hats in school"

"Aww, C'mon Mrs. S, that's so not fair"

"It's Mr. Higgins's rule. Just put it in your locker after homeroom."

"Fine," grumbled Jason. The rest of the class snickered under their breath.

Alice nudged me.

"I'm Bella Cullen, and I have read Wuthering Heights no less than seventeen times" I said, spewing off the first non-incriminating thing I could think of.

The rest of the class introduced themselves. Of course, I remembered all their names, having perfect vampire recall, but they weren't worth remarking on. All I wanted was to get to my first class, so I could be with Edward again.

Finally, everyone was introduced.

"Alright, it _is_ time to go over the handbook again this year, but since we only have a few minutes left of class, I'll save it for tomorrow," said Mrs. Smith with an indulgent smile.

A collective sound of approval, and relief ran through the classroom.

"Thank GOD!" cried the brown-haired girl who had asked Alice about her clothing earlier. Her name, was, it turned out, Jenna. The boy sitting closest to me turned to me, upon the realization that we had ten minutes of "free time" to do whatever we chose within the limits of the class room, and school rules.

"So, where did you move from?" he asked us.

"San Francisco" Alice replied. That was the story this time. A large, sunny city that we could never really live in made a great choice for our place of origin, because try as they might, no one would find a trace of us there, if we ever had to run, nor would anyone find it unusual in such a big city. I shuddered at the thought of why we might have to run. But if we did, I was determined it would _not _be my fault. As I considered this in the side-stage part of my mind, another, larger part of my consciousness was focused on the boy conversing with us.

"So why did you move HERE to small-town in Michigan, of all places?"

"Our father is a doctor, and he was offered a job here. And our mother wanted to get away from the big city," I answered with a bit of a smile, thinking of Edward answering the same thing in Forks all those years ago.

"Wow, that's really cool. Was California amazing?" He asked, still obviously directing his questions toward me. Emmett answered.

"Yeah, we had a lot of fun with the sports there, eh, little sis?" he asked clapping me on the back hard enough to make a sound. Alice kicked him under her desk. He stopped, just in time to prevent me from going face-first into the desk, and smashing it to smithereens. Alice explained to me later.

"There wasn't much to do there though, except study. Especially at night". I hissed for real at that one. Fortunately, our little human friend didn't seem to notice, but it earned me an elbow in the ribs from Alice.

"Emmett, do you recall a certain bet we made thirteen years ago, when we were really _young_?" I asked him.

Emmett grinned "Maybe. What's it to you?"

"Em, keep your word. Bella, chill, okay? You can rip him to shreds later" Alice added low enough that the humans wouldn't hear.

"Fine", I sighed.

Emmett merely grinned. I _knew_ he remembered the bet he had lost, the deal being that he would never mention my sex life again to anyone. I suppose he considered it null and void now that he _could_ beat me at arm wrestling.

"Oh—one more quick announcement" called Mrs. Smith, and the humans stopped their chattering. Alice, Emmet, and I were already silent. Alice scratched her nose, as if on cue, I blinked and crossed my legs.

"I just got an email that says homeroom travel doesn't begin until we finish the handbook, and guys, when you do travel, please, please, _please, _ remember to sign out, and have your passes signed" announced Mrs. Smith. A general mumble of assent answered Mrs. Smith.

"That's so retarded! Why do we have to go through the _frigging_ handbook _again?"_ complained the apparently outspoken Jason.

"Watch the language, please," admonished Mrs. Smith.

"Sorry. But seriously, _why_?"

"Mr. Higgins makes the rules, I have to follow them just like you," replied Mrs. Smith, with a hint of a sour look on her friendly face. Clearly, she didn't like reading the rules any more than the students liked hearing them. She really was a nice teacher.

"Stupid vice-principal. Just because he's the vice principal, he gets to make all the rules, or something?" grouched Jason.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" chimed in his friend, who had introduced himself as "Carl, the sexiest guy in Michigan, baby" to the general amusement or disapproval of the class. One girl with hair the color of our eyes after a hunting trip sighed and shook her head.

"We'll get through the handbook as fast as we can, and then you can travel again"

Ahh. Homeroom travel. I smiled at the prospect of being able to spend that much more of my day with Edward.

"We won't get through it until next Tuesday, those two" Alice gestured towards Jason and Carl, "will keep interrupting." I sighed. "The M-O's will be finished by the end of today's homeroom" smiled Alice. So maybe I _would_ get to see Edward after all. And Renesmee. This must be strange for her, her parents in school with her. She was even in our next class. Actually, I think we were _all _in the same class next. I felt bad for our Health teacher.

Here at our new high school, health was required all four years, instead of just freshman year like Forks, and Phoenix. And it was a mixed-grade class. Seniors, sophomores, freshman, and juniors all in the same room. Which meant our entire family could have health class _together._ Well, that was going to be an awkward class for our daughter, with her parents, aunts, and uncles, all in the same class. Six happily married vampires that never slept at night. We did _not_ need sexual education.

_Brzzzzzzt_. The school's microwave beep of a bell for the end of class zipped through my ears, and I stood, along with Alice and Emmett, to gather my things from my locker, and go to health class.

As I expected, Edward had managed to leave his homeroom in time to be waiting outside the door of Alice, Emmett and My homeroom, for me. He curled his arm around my waist as I exited the room. I slid my arm around him too, and we walked to our lockers like that. First mine, then his. We met Nessie and Jake as we turned down the hall towards the Health Class room. Alice and Jasper met us at the door. Rosalie and Emmett were already inside. Instead of desks, this classroom had long, tan, plastic tables with ugly maroon plastic chairs. Rosalie and Emmett were sitting in the middle of the table in the back of the room. It had just enough seats for all of us. We sat down. I ended up with Edward on my left, and Emmett on my right.

"You ready for this, Rosie?" he asked his wife. I didn't need to see Edward's grimace, or feel him tense at my side to know what Emmett was thinking about. If the subject of the class hadn't given it away, the sound of his voice would have. I leaned in to Edward, to comfort, and be comforted. I felt his gentle lips on the top of my head.

"Bella! Edward! PDA! You need this class!" teased Emmett, irrepressible. Well, this WAS his favorite subject. I snorted.

"Oh _you _should talk!" I replied. Emmett obviously replied in his head because the next thing Edward said was:

"A couple of pillows and a headboard do not equal thirteen houses, Emmett". I was glad I couldn't blush any longer. Alice and Jasper were snickering. Alice had used the excuse to help Esme redecorate her Island, when Edward remembered that we owed Esme a new bed frame. I wished Emmet hadn't caught Alice ordering a new bed frame for Esme with Edward's credit card. He hadn't let it go since then.

The beep for the start of class sizzled, and the teacher walked in. He was short, bald as an egg, and wearing a polar fleece vest left over from the 90's.

"Welcome to health Class! This year's topic will be Sexual Education. I groaned, as I caught sight of the expression on Emmett's face. It was going to be a long term in this class. I put my head on Edward's shoulder and closed my eyes.

"I am Mr. Lawrence. I've been teaching this course for Twenty-one years—that's longer than any of you have been alive!" I let out a soft half-laugh. Actually, every one of us but Renesmee, Jacob and I had been "alive" much longer than Mr. Lawrence, himself.

Mr. Lawrence talked about himself for ten more minutes, proceeded to take attendance in the standard "here" fashion, and then began his first lecture.

"Introduction to Sex Ed" read the title slide of his power point.

"We'll start off with some simple definitions" began Mr. Lawrence.

"Pay attention, puppy, you'll want to know this soon…," Emmett whispered, knowing Jacob could hear him all the end of the table. Edward hissed. For once, I didn't smack him. It was all I could do to keep myself from hissing at Emmett myself for talking about my daughter's future sex life, and I couldn't hear whatever Emmett was thinking along with it.

"Em, I never thought I'd say it, but please go back to thinking obscene thoughts about Rose!" Edward pleaded, pinching the bridge of his nose with his free hand. I patted his back comfortingly. Attempting to give him something better to listen to, I first warned him with a quick note scribbled in the margin of his notebook, where he had absentmindedly scribbled down the "vocabulary" terms "intercourse", and "STD"

I pushed my shield right out of my brain, and thought about him. When _didn't _I think about him? I thought about that poor, mutilated Bed frame, and wondered what might have happened if we had gotten anywhere near the bed frame that first night after I was changed. Edward was gripping me so tightly; I was surprised I was still in my chair. Startled by this realization, I dropped my shield, and it snapped back into place.

"Today our first topic is Birth control" Mr. Lawrence. My entire family looked at Renesmee, even Jacob. She turned bright red. Unfortunately, Mr. Lawrence noticed.

"Yes, is there something you would like to share with us, Miss—," he checked his seating chart "Masen?" I was the one looking down embarrassed. Emmett piped up, again, tickled to death by this opportunity to once again, publicly humiliate his little "sister".

"She was a 'surprise '. That's how we ended up with her." replied Emmett, waggling his eyebrows at me and Edward. I put my head in my hands, propped up on the table by my elbows. Edward patted my head.

"Ahh, I see. Class, you see the consequences of not using proper birth control methods?" he asked. "Of course, legally, none of you should be having sex until you turn 18, at least." Hah. Technically, Edward was still seventeen.

"If you do not use some form of birth control, you may find yourselves having to deal with the consequences of a grave mistake. I hissed there, I couldn't help it. My daughter was _not_ a mistake.

"Mom, chill" Renesmee whispered to me. It was Edward's turn to rub my back. I put my head back in my hands and stayed there until the peculiar beeping of the bell set us free from Sex Ed.


	3. Chapter Three The Condom Lady

_Chapter Three—The Condom Lady_

"Edward, please?" I begged that night, "Can't you just go down to the office, and pull your usual dazzle thing, and get us out of Sex Ed? _Please_? Isn't there _something_ you could do to get us out of that class?"

Edward chuckled, looking into my eyes. "It's a required course, love", he smirked. I groaned.

"Can't you at least get us switched to a different section, its _murder_ taking the class with _Emmett!_ Ugh"

"I resent that" came Emmett's voice from his room, followed by Rosalie's admonition, "Shut up, Em!"

"I agree with you there, and _you_ didn't hear what he was thinking." Said Edward ignoring Emmett and Rosalie's little interruption, though I knew he heard much more than what they had said.

Two hours after dawn Renesmee's alarm clock sounded. I growled at it. "Stupid alarm clock" Edward laughed at my reaction. Then we heard Renesmee groan, and shuffle out of bed to turn off her alarm. We pulled ourselves apart, and went to dress for another day at school.

I went through the many garment bags in our closet, pausing at one that held a strong smell of denim. Alice, having decided that my outfit-creating skills were too sadly lacking for me to be allowed to continue, had coordinated all my clothes into separate outfits, which she had placed in garment bags hung up and down the rows of my closet. As per my compromise with Alice on the clothes front at that point. I would wear her outfits and her idea of appropriate clothing in public, and on special occasions. At all other times, I was to be allowed to choose my own apparel. Alice agreed, considering the fact that she was buying all of my clothes anyway. It was a very one-sided compromise, but I was lucky to get _anything_ out of Alice compromise-wise.

Edward wore my favorite shirt of his—a thin, ivory T-shirt that showed off his incredible muscles. Of course, that shirt always made me think about what was underneath it, and that wasn't exactly helpful when I was trying to pay attention in class. Fortunately, my vampire mind had enough space for me to contemplate Edward's perfect pectorals, with one part of my mind, and still have enough attention for the teacher to take notes in class. Not that I really needed them what with perfect recall, and all.

As I was zipping my backpack, and gathering the small shreds of black silk off the floor, and sweeping them into the waste basket, I heard Nessie's alarm clock go off again. So she thought she'd set it to snooze, did she?

"Renesme Carlie Cullen, You have fifteen minutes, to get up, get dressed, and get ready for school!" I called to her.

"Shit," came her voice, muffled through the walls.

"Fifteen minutes," I repeated loudly.

"Yes, mom" replied Renesmee. I could just _hear_ her eyes rolling as she said it.

She looked absolutely miserable as we walked into Sex Ed that day. The poor girl had to have sex education with her parents. Her parents that had a king-sized bed that they used every night, but never slept in, and her boyfriend. That had to be awkward.

"Today, we have a guest speaker!" announced Mr. Lawrence, as soon as the class had quieted, five minutes after he bell had rung. She was rather old; probably about 60ish and she had short, close-cropped grey hair. I assumed we were in for a boring speech about "being safe" and "respecting our bodies" or something.

"I'm Ms. Seinbauer, but you can call me The Condom Lady. I work at the pregnancy help center downtown. I'm here to talk to you all about birth control!" announced the visiting speaker.

I blinked, not sure if my acute vampire senses were functioning properly. Surely this was some kind of trick, or odd joke. What _sane_ person would introduce herself as "The Condom Lady"? I looked at Edward eyebrows wrinkled in curiosity, thinking "Is she for real?" Edward, not needing me to remove my shield to understand this question in my glance, nodded in a bemused affirmative.

"Condoms, are the most common form of birth control. They come in many varieties," began The Condom Lady, using the tiny remote control Mr. Lawrence handed her to change the PowerPoint presentation from black screen to a very disturbing cartoon condom with a smiling face.

"Hey, you guys should pay attention," hissed Emmett too loud, nudging me in the ribs. I would have blushed if I were still human. As it was, I leaned into Edward, since apparently, without my blushes, my body needed some reaction to embarrassment, and glared at Emmett.

Emmett's stage whisper managed to reach the ears of every single human in the class. They were all staring at me and Edward. I looked down, allowing my hair to spill over my face, and cover it up.

"Is there a story here that you would like to share with the class?" asked The Condom Lady, smiling eagerly. Too eagerly for my taste.

"We can always benefit from the experiences of others". I was going to _kill_ Emmett, the moment we got away from all the humans.

"Well, Mr. Masen, Miss. Cullen?" prompted Mr. Lawrence.

"I have no idea what Emmett is talking about, Mr. Lawrence, I suggest you ask _him,_" replied Edward coolly, glaring at Emmett. Emmett grinned saucily at Edward for the briefest moment, then turned to Mr. Lawrence, his face the picture of innocence. Mr. Lawrence turned back to The Condom Lady.

"Well, Ms. Seinbauer, shall we continue?"

The Condom Lady proceeded to go over various types of birth control. The look on Emmett's face told me I was going to hear more about this later. I sighed and put my head on the desk, trying to think of happy thoughts. Edward stroked my hair. Carefully, slowly, so Edward wouldn't go crazy, I removed my shield from my brain.

_Edward._ I thought, just to say his name. I felt him stiffen for a moment. _Calm down_ I thought. He relaxed, and his wonderful fingers resumed their trailing through my hair. I feel the smug grin on his face in his still trailing fingers, as he heard my satisfaction with his hair-caressing prowess.

_Is Emmett going to pull anything like that again?_ Edward sighed, and I knew Emmett must be planning something. I felt a tap on my right shoulder. That meant yes. _Is Nessie doing alright?_ The poor girl was already embarrassed at having to take Sex Ed with her parents, let alone hear comments about how she wouldn't have been born if we had known to use birth control.

"She'll be alright," Edward mumbled low enough that only I could hear. I managed to keep my shield out of my brain, and still just think normally. Edward continued the rhythmic stroking of my hair, and I could just feel how happy it made him to hear my thoughts.

"You have no idea," he whispered. _Shhh—what if they heard you?_ Edward scoffed, but stopped answering my thoughts verbally for the rest of the miserable class period.

"So, what do they think of us so far?" asked Emmett at lunch, toying with an apple as if it were a baseball, passing it from hand to hand. Edward rolled his eyes before answering.

"The usual, reclusive, mysterious, absolutely gorgeous." Here his eyes raked over my body, hungrily. I looked down for a moment, embarrassed, "and now lots of them are wondering precisely how _close_ we all are in our relationships, thank you so much Emmett". Edward's voice was beautifully menacing.

From the whispers the humans thought I couldn't hear following us down the halls, I was willing to bet all of the money hidden our closet (and that was more than enough to give a happy meal a day to all the children in Michigan for a year) that the things the students were thinking ran along much ruder lines than "reclusive, mysterious, absolutely gorgeous". They probably thought we were incestuous snobs who had no time for anyone who wasn't living in the Cullen home.

The "Hale Twins" were known as the most aloof, they were being pointed out as "stuck up" in the hallways. It was my private opinion that Rosalie contributed most to their snobbish reputation. The "other" twins, the "Masen twins" were not quite a set like the other two. Edward stuck to "the brunette girl" (me) like glue, and Renesmee seemed magnetically drawn to "that Indian dude". Renesmee was known to have a weird name. (I scowled whenever this comment reached my hearing) She was also known to be friendly, and approachable. Edward was known to be polite, but cold, and strange, and didn't appear to care about anybody but me, and Renesmee.

The Cullens were held to be universally nice, but kind of odd, and wholly intimidating, especially on Emmett's part. Fortunately, with so many "older brothers" no pitiful high school boy had yet approached me or my daughter. Not that Edward or Jacob would have given them the chance if they had tried.

The background of my mind contemplated the students' attitude towards us, while the rest of it was focused on preparing myself to stop Edward from knocking Emmett through a wall and exposing us.

"Sorry, bro. Still, better have they know we're close than have them trying to steal our women, eh?"

I sighed, expecting Edward to have a ready remark to throw at Emmett, since his posture did not seem to threaten bodily harm, _yet._ But he said nothing. Nor did Emmett, He looked startled, and whipped his head around to stare at Alice.

I turned my head sideways to look at Edward first, to make sure he was okay. He was looking slightly shocked, and obviously tuned into someone's mind. I whipped my head the other way to look at Alice, who was having a vision. _Oh_.

Alice blinked, shook her head, and looked at Edward, quizzically. Was she asking him if she should tell us the truth? What was it? I was getting frustrated with the silent conversation. Edward shook his head slightly, and then nodded.

"_What_ is it?" I asked, looking first at Edward, then Alice, fighting to keep myself from turning my head too fast.

"Incoming" said Alice "thirty seconds. Three of them. They want to talk to Nessie,"

"You can say 'Yes' if you like, just be careful." said Edward. From which I gathered "they" were female students, because if a male student asked Renesmee anything at all, and she said 'yes', he would be nothing less than enraged. Largely due to what said male students were thinking.

"what—", began Rosalie, just as Jasper asked "Who?" Then we heard them approaching, their footsteps growing closer, their loud little heartbeats pounding closer, wet and rushing with sweet, forbidden blood. We all felt the thirst flare up, and sear our throats. All except Jacob, of course. It was three girls. They were all seniors, and they were of the cool, collected, student council type. The kind that always wear clothes that Alice approves of. They were always almost as sophisticated and suave as we were, only they were human, so considerably more effort must have gone into their appearance. We simply had to pull on whatever clothes Alice had stocked our closets with , and we were ready to go.

"Hi!" smiled the first girl, in a friendly voice. Everything about her said friendly. From the friendly white-with pink polka dot skirt and sky blue t-shirt she wore, to her blue and pink polka dot slip-on sneakers. Everything about her sent this friendly vibe. Perhaps it was cultivated. I thought all of this in the split second between the first girl's "hi" and Renesmee's rather awkward, "hello" of a reply.

"We're from the Student Council Welcoming Committee," smiled the second girl in head-to-toe pink. Somehow, it suited her instead of making her look scary. No one replied to this statement. I suppose they were trying to avoid the Humans for their own good. I smiled a little, without showing my teeth, to reassure them. They seemed nervous, and I didn't want to scare the poor girls away. They were, after all, just doing their job.

"So, welcome to ASHS, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask any of us. I'm also in charge of the Homecoming Committee, so If any of you would like to help paint the homecoming banner this year, let us know," Continued the third girl. Alice nodded to Renesmee, who swallowed once, then replied.

"I might be interested," replied Renesmee.

"That's great! I'm Carla, by the way. Our first meeting will be in a week, so just come to Mr. C's room—242, that's right down the hall from the front office."

"Thanks, I'm Renesmee," replied my daughter. Hearing this caused a guilty expression to cross the other two student council girls' faces.

"Oh, I'm Amy," said the Polka-dot girl.

"And I'm Bridget," added the pink girl. I supposed that meant we had to introduce ourselves. Edward acted as our spokesperson, as always. He knew what we all wanted him to say anyway. Even me, if I let him in.

"I'm Renesmee's brother, Edward Masen. This" Edward indicated me by wrapping an arm around me, and drawing me to his chest, nearly pulling me off of my plastic cafeteria chair, "is Bella Cullen, Alice Cullen, Jasper and Rosalie Hale, Emmett Cullen, and Jacob Black". He indicated each of the others with a wave of the hand that was not wrapped around me.

"Nice to meet you," said Amy.

"So do you all know each other from before you came here, or are you just sitting together because you're all new?" asked Carla. Ah. Apparently these three had somehow managed to miss the gossip about how the Cullens were all some kind of weird commune family that was big on plastic surgery. Big scandal time. I grinned to myself, knowing what Edward was going to be saying next.

"We were all taken in by Dr. and Mrs. Cullen," replied Edward.

"Wow, so how come you have different last names?" asked Carla, by far the most loquacious of the three girls. She seemed to be trying to ask friendly questions about us, maybe to make us feel more comfortable. Whatever her purpose, Edward deemed it advisable to furnish at least part of the details of our elaborate cover story.

"Bella, Alice, and Emmett were formally adopted, Rosalie, Jasper, and Jacob are foster children, and Renesmee and I were formally adopted but chose to keep our given name," replied Edward.

"Wow. It must be tough to have such a big family," replied Carla, "I know I have two younger brothers, and sometimes I think _that's_ too many"

"We all get along fairly well"

At that moment, the bell beeped, and we all rose and separated to head to our individual classes, dumping our uneaten food in the garbage can on our way, as we slipped smoothly out of the cafeteria.


	4. Chapter FourCoincidence

_Chapter Four-Coincidence_

Carlisle had hunted before he set off for the Hospital that day, and Esme had gone with him, so all of us "kids" went hunting that night, Jacob and Renesmee included. They still kept up their old tradition of seeing who could make the largest kill. We didn't have the time to travel far from town tonight, so we all chased a particularly large herd of deer.

As we were closing in, I caught a hint of a slightly-less-objectionable scent. Something tastier than deer, yet less desirable than human blood. Mountain lion, and more than one of them. Without thinking, I turned from the distasteful deer, and chased the lions instead. I saw, and smelt Edward ahead of me, also chasing his favorite meal. He would always be the fastest.

When we returned to the clearing the deer had been in, we saw only Jacob and Renesmee still there, standing next to the river with the little whirlpool swirling in it. Everyone else seemed to have disappeared.

"What-" I began

"At the same time as us, really?" asked Edward, answering Jacob and Nessie's thoughts. I rolled my eyes. Some of Edwards's mannerisms seemed to be rubbing off on me.

"Apparently all of our siblings ran off after some other prey at the same time as we did" Edward explained, having obviously caught my eye-roll.

"The exact same time?"

"So it appears"

"Huh" was my unimaginative reply. My brain had switched into overdrive, trying to figure it out. Since it was Edward and my favorite prey that made us switch course, perhaps the others also smelt something of appeal to them. They hadn't smelled the mountain lions, because I would have noticed them if they had, but I knew Emmett would do just about anything for a fight with a grizzly. Rose would chase after Emmett, and I knew she didn't like deer. Alice hadn't indicated any definite preferences, but she did prefer carnivores in general to herbivores. Jasper, on the other hand, worried me. I recalled Edward once telling me that Jasper had difficulty differentiating between the different "flavors", as Edward had described it, of blood. It all smelled the same to him, and he had no favorites. Unless he had developed one, the only scent I could think of that would definitely call him away suddenly would be Human.

Alice wouldn't let Jazz do that though… She'd see it coming. And if there had been a human close enough for Jasper to smell while we were hunting, we all would have smelt them. Besides, even Jasper preferred carnivore to herbivore. My thoughts were interrupted by Rosalie and Emmett returning to the scene, Rosalie, chewing Emmett out for letting a grizzly bear tear the new shirt she had just gotten him. Emmett was weakly arguing back, trying to defend himself. I thought he would probably have a better chance of reasoning with an irritated grizzly than of winning an argument with Rose.

"So you found a grizzly at the exact moment we were going to attack the deer?" asked Edward.

"Yes," snapped Rosalie

"And we wasted it, didn't we Rose? C'mon, you know you had fun!" he added, in an attempt to cheer Rosalie up.

"What a coincidence," I replied uneasily. It didn't _seem_ like much of a coincidence.

Edward seemed to be thinking along the same lines, as his expression all-too-clearly spoke to me.

"There is something peculiar happening" he decided, as Alice and Jasper came into view. To my relief, Jasper's eyes were still bright gold. Then I was ashamed of myself for even supposing such a thing. Jasper hadn't slipped up, hadn't—to my knowledge—even come close in the past thirteen years.

"Let me guess, you smelled something delicious and chased it?" I asked them. Alice grinned.

"How was the mountain lion?" she asked

"Great" I replied, narrowing my eyes in confusion.

"No, I can't see anything, Edward. I have no idea why. Maybe it really is just a coincidence" Alice said preempting Edward's question.

"Not even at all?"

"Nothing."

"hmmm"

Well, we decided it was a coincidence, as Alice is usually right, and she declared it was a coincidence, therefore, it must be. At least there was a definite chance that it very well could be a coincidence.


	5. Chapter FiveVoices

_Chapter Five-Voices_

As we ran back to our new house, I thought I heard Alice and Jasper muttering as they ran alongside of me. Edward was completely silent to my left. Probably mulling over this new mystery, I reasoned. Alice and Jasper didn't usually mumble like this, nor did the rest of the house, when we got there, all talking to themselves. I didn't spend much time thinking about it, however. Renesmee was tired, so she and Jacob headed straight off to sleep the moment we got home (In separate rooms, of course). The rest of the night was for Edward and me to enjoy. All thoughts of mumblings, and mutterings left my head, there was nothing left but him, and me. I didn't even notice when Renesmee's alarm clock went off that morning. Or perhaps she forgot to set it that night, being half-asleep when she stumbled into her room and fell asleep.

At any rate, Edward and I were almost late to school. Everyone else was already at school when we arrived at two hundred miles-per hour. Since the rest of our family had decided it would be fine to take Edward's newest Volvo, we took the Ferrari. Of course, I wanted to just run, but Edward claimed he didn't want us to be seen running to school at inhuman speeds. He said it was the exposure risk, but I was willing to bet my entire wardrobe (the shoes alone cost twice as much my Ferrari) that it was just an excuse to get me to drive the car he bought me.

The buzzing began when we first reached the parking lot. It was a dizzying hum that grew louder and louder, the closer we got to school. I could usually pick out a few faint voices from the parking lot with my vampire hearing, but this was louder than most. I wondered if perhaps there was an especially loud assembly this morning.

"Is there supposed to be an assembly this morning?" I asked Edward. He looked quizzically at me.

"No, not to my knowledge"

"Oh. Because it's awfully loud this morning."

"Really? I'm finding it unnaturally quiet today."

"Huh," I said, not thinking too much of it. Perhaps the humans' thoughts were quieter for him today, and their physical voices louder. That made some sense, in a convoluted way.

When we entered the building the buzz of voices became even louder, and my head felt like spinning. I gasped.

"It's so loud!"

"Bella? Are you alright? It's unnaturally quiet today" countered Edward. I felt my brow wrinkle at the same time as his did.

The further into school we got, the louder the noise got. It was a clamor of voices churning through my head. My brow wrinkled further as I tried to unravel this mystery. We stopped at Edward's homeroom first so he could get his "travel pass" and come to my homeroom.

When we reached my homeroom and sat down, the babbling became even louder. It was like every single person in the room was babbling into a megaphone. The resulting cacophony was as unintelligible as it was incessant. For the first time in thirteen years, I felt as if I was going to have a headache.

"Owww. Hi, Alice. Isn't it really loud in here?" I asked her, sitting down on Edward's lap in a move we had become so accustomed to over the past thirteen years that neither Edward nor I ever thought about it any longer.

"Um, Bella, hardly anyone is talking. I just wish I could see what Jazz was doing. It must be something with Jacob, or Nessie, because I can't see _anything_. I can't even see around them," Alice muttered.

"Edward, what's Jazz doing?" asked Alice "I have a horrible feeling that something is wrong." Edward didn't reply. "Edward? Is he up to something? Why can't I see him? Is he planning anything?" Alice kept asking questions, Edward remained silent.

"Edward," Alice's voice came again, "What's Jazz up to?" she murmured.

"I don't know. I can't hear—I can't hear!" gasped Edward. Just at that moment, Jasper came cautiously, but swiftly into our classroom, grabbed Alice's wrist, and looked at Edward and I, his face tense.

"We need to go outside, _now_" he muttered urgently. Suddenly, a picture of Alice, Edward and I going absolutely insane filled my mind. It was exactly the same way it felt to see one of Renesmee's memories—_oh. _Oh dear. I reached for Edward the split second he reached for me, and we slid out of the classroom, leaving Emmett to make our apologies.

"Um, Emmett, your sisters and brothers," I heard Mrs. Smith begin. _I wonder what's gotten into them. There's something odd about that whole family._

_Geez, what's eating you, kid? What do you want me to tell her anyway? You owe me an explanation later—this isn't the first time I've had to cover for you, you know!_

My eyes bugged even wider, as we walked as swiftly as humanly possible, which is to say, far too slowly, to the car. It was the Volvo we ended up in, with Edward and I in the front, and Alice and Jasper in the back.


	6. Chapter 6 Going Home Sick

_Chapter Six—Going Home Sick_

_ Bella, I'm guessing you can hear me, not Edward._ I heard Jasper say—think.

I shook my head to clear it as I replied, "Yes. Any idea what the hell is going on?"

"You know, that's really annoying," commented Edward.

"Oh, you should talk Mr. Cryptic mind-reader!" I spat back.

"So, we switched…gifts," Alice said, musing. "Which would explain why I feel panicked enough for four vampires instead of just myself." _I don't know how Jazz does this. I feel like I'm going to burst!_

"Me too," I muttered clutching my head in my lap. Edward reached out and slid me into his lap, and stroked my neck wordlessly offering comfort. He had gotten so used to reading me without actually hearing my thoughts that he didn't even need his mind reading to understand me. That had to be comforting to him. I, too, had spent a great deal of time figuring out what Edward was thinking.

"Can you see anything about it, Jazz?" asked Edward, looking at Jasper over my head. I saw him do it in Jasper's mind. That was so unsettling to see yourself the way others saw you. Although I supposed it could be used as a mirror on occasion. Not that I would ever really need a mirror again. I would always look the same. Gorgeous, ethereal, immortal, perfect. Forever.

Jasper's head was merely a whirl of color and random flashes of future happenings. Mainly they involved me with what looked like a major headache, Edward looking radically frustrated, Alice looking overwhelmed out of her senses, and Jasper himself with his eyes constantly going blank.

_Carlisle._ "Carlisle needs to know. We need Carlisle," said Alice.

"Carlisle" agreed Edward. _Carlisle, of course_. Thought Jasper.

"Edward, since you seem to be the least affected, it might be best if you arrange our escape from school for the rest of the day," Jasper said aloud, "On the other hand, as Bella and Alice both look like they could actually be sick, and I'm sure I don't look too much different, perhaps we should all go, give some authenticity to our story."

No sooner had Jasper said that, than a scene interrupted his mental thoughts. Edward was talking earnestly to Ms. Kirtchner, with one arm around me. I was leaning on him, my head in my hands. Alice and Jasper were leaning on each other, all of us looking utterly miserable.

"Yes, It's going to work better if we do it that way." Jasper sounded almost smug.

"I could have told you that," said Alice, disgruntled. She was feeling lost without her sight.

"Let's just go, please? The sooner we do this, the sooner we can get to Carlisle," I begged. Edward opened the door, and instead of waiting for me to get out first, scooped me up in his arms, and lifted me up, shut the door, and placed me gently back on the ground. I heard two clicks as the Volvo's back doors closed.

"By the way, can I have my keys back, Alice?" Edward asked. Alice tossed him his keys as we started back towards the school.

In the office, it all appeared just as Jasper's vision had. I had begun clutching my head the moment we got inside the school, Edward had one arm wrapped around me, and I leaned all my weight on him, which he bore manfully. Alice and Jasper leaned on each other as much as possible, standing slightly behind Edward and I, as Edward explained to Ms. Kirtchner that the four of us were feeling rather horrid today, possibly due to some rather old leftovers that we had eaten last night.

"We thought if we heated them up to a high enough temperature, they would be fine, but to tell you the truth, I honestly don't know how long they'd been in the refrigerator," said Edward, "I hate to disturb you, but we all feel terribly, and we'd like to go home sick." He was so convincing, he almost sounded sick. He _was_ sick, Sick with worry, especially for me, I was certain. Though I was equally certain that he missed his mind-reading.

_I can't _take_ this! I can't see! I feel so lost, so utterly blind! _Alice snapped mentally. Jasper's thoughts were a constant stream of short, incomprehensible trips to the future. He was beginning to clutch his own head.

_I'm upset for myself, worried, frightened, I think…Bella, are you the one who feels like she's being ripped into bits, emotion-wise? _ Alice thought. I winced. That was a very accurate description of my feelings. _I'm guessing Edward is the worried, protective ball of frustration shooting towards me from next to you. _ I cracked a hint of a smile. Alice was watching, I was certain she could understand my reply. I was also fairly certain she'd played this game with Edward before. _That leaves Jazz with the other ball of protective frustration. It feels like it's all smashing in on me from all sides. How are you holding up, Bella?_ From the corner of my eye, the one that was facing away from Edward, I could see Alice's concerned look. Bless Alice for still being worried about the rest of us, when all I could think about was my _head_. I twitched the former ever so slightly to indicate a shrug-like motion.

"I'm sorry but our school policy doesn't allow any sick students to drive themselves home. It's for your safety, you know" admonished Ms. Kirtchner. "You'll have to call your parents and have them pick you up."

Edward smiled ruefully, "That's quite alright, Ms. Kirtchner, you don't make the rules. I'll just call Carlisle then."

I had reached into his pocket and extracted his silver cell phone, and punched in Carlisle's number on speed dial. I handed him the phone as it dialed Carlisle's number.

_Where did she pull that from? Cell phones aren't allowed in school. I suppose they're all texting in class, aren't they? If she already had that ready, I'm sure they're setting this up. None of them are probably sick at all, for all they seemed so perfect. _ I groaned. Ms. Kirtchner was going to try her hardest not to let us go. _Oh, perhaps they really are ill. At least that girl is. What was her name… one of the Cullens…Bella, I think. They are all incredibly pale today. Of course, they were all just as pale yesterday, and I'm sure they seemed to be perfectly happy, and perfectly healthy. What strange children. There's something a bit off about them._

Meanwhile, Edward was conversing as rapidly as he dared with Carlisle on the phone.

"Yes. We're all feeling quite poorly"

"_Is something wrong?"_

"Yes, quite"

"_Edward, you didn't? Not Jasper? Bella? Emmett? Nessie?"_

"No, Bella, Alice, Jasper and I are feeling quite unwell. Ms Kirtchner informed us that we cannot simply drive ourselves home, as we are ill. I think it may have been those leftovers last night…"

_"No one bitten?"_

"No, something else"

"_Alright, the secretary is listening to this conversation, isn't she?"_

"That's the one"

"_Alright, I'll come pick you up. Hang tight. Are you all alright_?"

"As well as can be expected. Yes, thank you." he hung up.

"Carlisle will be here to collect us in a few minutes," said Edward, slipping the phone back into his pocket so smoothly that Ms. Kirtchner didn't notice. Of course that might have been because she was too busy fawning over Edward.

_His eyes look exactly like my Jimmy's used to when we first met. I miss those days. I'm not that old, am I? They get younger every year, I swear. Ahh, but those eyes, such a unique color. Ive never seen any like them before. Ahh, and those shoulders._ I snuggled myself more deeply into those shoulders rubbing my temples. I could feel Edward's chest vibrating with the laugh he couldn't let Ms. Kirtchner see.

"Jealous? I can guess what she's thinking," he murmured, only for me.

I nodded into his chest, and his arms wrapped around me, soothing me.

_I'm not sure he's sick at all. He only seems to be skipping out for the sake of this one. Arent they all related? That's just a little too friendly for family, the way he's holding her so tight. That must feel nice to be close to all those strong muscles under that shirt._ I suddenly hated that plain white T-shirt. _Ahh—but he's young enough to be my grandson._ Hah, that was what she thought. Actually, he was old enough to be _her_ grandfather. Or great-grandfather. That was rather disturbing actually, when I remembered that he was over ninety years older than me. But that was only in one sense. In the other, I was a year older than he. Ah, what did it matter, he was my Edward, and I was his Bella. Nothing else mattered. In that one moment, I was at perfect peace. Then I heard the unmistakable purr of Carlisle's latest black Mercedes enter the parking lot, and smoothly cut off over the intruding hubbub of the entire school's stream's of consciousness with Ms Kirtchner's thoughts overriding all.

A moment later, he was walking at a brisk human speed into the office.

"Why don't you all go wait in the car, children?" Carlisle suggested, handing Edward the keys. "I'll take care of business in here. Don't take it too fast—you look terrible" Carlisle added. _There were some bored students watching from the widows, and a few stragglers still just arriving, so don't try running, just walk to the car and wait, please. The second I get into the car, you can all explain. _

I tugged gently on Edward's sleeve, and we all exited the office in a miserable group. Edward looked so frustrated, and anxious. He knew Carlisle was trying to talk to him, but he couldn't hear it. My instinct was to lift my shield so I could soothe and distract him, but when I couldn't feel it, I remembered I didn't have it any more. I felt completely and utterly naked without it, totally and entirely vulnerable and unprotected. Jane would be able to hurt me now, were the Volturi to suddenly appear, though I hoped they wouldn't. Of course, I was fairly certain that they wouldn't appear, but with my luck, it was just possible that they might pop in unexpectedly.

At least Edward would be safe from them. Seeing as he was the only one I was not hearing, and I had his power, he clearly had mine. And as I missed it like I would miss my legs if I suddenly lost them and had them replaced with someone else's, so he must miss his mind-reading. If Alice felt blind, surely Edward felt completely deaf. Jasper felt incredibly empty. He felt drained of all emotion. Actually Alice was getting a great deal of shock, and well-contained panic that I was fairly certain came from Jazz.

Alice saw me looking anxiously at Edward as we approached Carlisle's car. _You wondering about Edward, Bella? _ I nodded. Alice tried hard to focus, to channel the emotion seeking the way she channeled her vision-seeking. _He's frightened, frustrated, worried, probably about you, and I'm fairly certain that he's at least a little smug. Probably something about the whole "seeing yourself clearly' thing. _ I winced my thanks to Alice. It was meant to be a smile, but it came out as a wince instead. _You're welcome_ Alice almost smiled. She was really accomplished at speaking to me in my head, which reinforced my conclusion that she must have had a great deal of practice doing the same with Edward. No wonder Alice was Edwards's favorite sister.

We reached the car, and all piled in to the back seat. I sat on Edward's lap again needing the comfort of being close to him, and Alice sat on Jasper's lap, both of them needing the same comfort.


	7. Chapter 7 The Ride Home

_Chapter Seven - The Ride Home_

We were shortly joined by Carlisle. His thoughts were worried, bordering on frantic. He had no idea what was wrong, and he kept jumping from one idea to the next. I had no idea how to explain what had just happened to us, and I seemed to be the only one who had noticed that Carlisle was going spare.

_So what happened, are you alright, son?_ He asked Edward. Unfortunately, Edward couldn't hear him. I nudged Edward and looked pointedly at Carlisle.

"Um Carlisle, we seem to have all switched gifts"

"it's not Christmas, Edward"

"Powers, I can't hear you Carlisle, I can't hear anyone, I have Bella's shield, and she has my mind-reading. Alice and jasper have also switched. I winced as I felt Alice's pain second-hand when she received the shock rolling off of Carlisle's body.

"Switched…gifts?" muttered Carlisle

"yes" Edward replied. _Bella, can you hear me then?_ Asked Carlisle. My lips twitched towards what would have been a smile were I still capable of smiling at this point, and I nodded a little. "yes, I can hear you" I turned to Edward.

"I don't know how you put up with it—everyone, every day, all the time!" I gasped. At least we were speeding smoothly away from the school now. The majority of the incessantly chattering voices faded from my head, wand were replaced by the only three that I could hear in the car. Although there was still a faint murmur…oh good lord, I had just remembered something.

"Edward, how… exactly how _far_ can you usually hear?" I asked my voice shaking.

"Not more than a mile or so, usually" replied Edward.

"A mile or so? D'you know how many people fit into 'a mile or so'?" I gasped. Edward chuckled humorlessly.

"Yes, I do in fact. Sorry, love. I wish I could make it better."

Then it clicked. He _could_.

"You can! You can use my shield!"

"Can I shield the entire one mile radius while in a moving car?" Edward asked in awe. I smiled a little.

"The moving car shouldn't affect the shield. Can you feel it?"

"No" Edward's forehead wrinkled in frustration.

"Oh"

Edward alone was completely silent for the rest of the ride home. My head was swirling with a multitude of thoughts and visions, none of them belonging to me. They filled so much of my mind that there was barely room for my own thought, and that was saying something considering the average capacity of the vampire mind. I tried to tune them all out and listen only to my own thoughts, but they kept boring through into my mind. I understood what Edward meant when he said it was difficult to tune certain thoughts out. It felt like they were pushing their way into my mind.

_How is Alice feeling? I can't tell. On the one hand, at least I don't have to experience all the anxiety that I'm sure everyone else is feeling. On the other hand, I could calm it down, but I don't have my gift any more. Perhaps Alice can do it? But It's overwhelming enough just to feel the emotions swirling around a room on an average day, add all of our intense emotions today, and I'm sure she's already dealing with enough without adding one more complication. I—_Jasper's thoughts switched to a vision of the entire car becoming even more panic-stricken_ I was right, it would be a bad idea. I wonder how Esme will take it…_ and Suddenly in Jasper's mind's eye (and consequentially my own) Esme was hugging us all fiercely, looking worried, and then gravitating to Carlisle.

_I wish I knew how this was going to turn out. I wish I Knew who is going to talk first. It feels like I'm running with my eyes closed. The feelings don't help either. Jasper never explained just exactly what it felt like. I suppose there is no real way to explain how it feels to anyone who has never experienced it. I feel like I'm being swept away in a tide of emotions though. Its so disorienting. All I can feel is tension, I wonder how Jazz uses his ability to manipulate emotions. _

I attempted to focus on Edward's silent thoughts for the remainder of the short ride home. I focused on _not_ hearing him, and the other voices faded just a bit, and melded together into an annoying, but indistinct cacophony.


	8. Chapter 8 Home

_Chapter 8 - Home_

We walked in silence (outwardly, at any rate) from the car to the dining room in less than one second. Esme was already there waiting for us, holding an antique vase that she had obviously been polishing when she heard the sounds of the Mercedes approaching.

"Carlise? Edward, Bella, Alice, Jasper? What are you all doing home so early? Did something go wrong?" _Oh I hope no one slipped up. Bella would feel just horrible, and Jasper's been doing so well since Bella's newborn stage. Rosalie is especially happy to be here. She says she feels "almost normal" again. _

"Not that," said Edward, I cocked my head to the side, looking at him.

"How did you know?" I asked him. Without his "extra hearing" as he called it, he obviously didn't hear Esme's thought just now.

"I've heard their minds for so long…" was all he answered. He looked confused more than anything else. And of course, overprotective and worried as usual.

"You might want to set that vase down on the table first," suggested Jasper, seeing Esme drop the vase when we told her. _She'd probably be upset if another one of her priceless vases bit the dust._

I inwardly winced, remembering another occasion upon which one of Esme's vases had been dropped. Esme darted to the table, placed the vase on it, and darted back.

"Well?"

"They seem to have switched gifts…talents," Carlisle explained, flitting to Esme's side. Edward mimicked Carlisle's comforting gestures unthinkingly. At least I supposed he wasn't thinking about it as it felt automatic, but I obviously couldn't tell.

"Switched gifts? But how?"

"You think it has something to do with our hunting trip, don't you?" I asked Edward.

"I thought you couldn't hear him, Bella" said Jasper, his forehead wrinkled, making the scars stand out.

"I can't, it was something he said on the phone to Carlisle," I responded, turning my gaze back to Edward.

"Oh, that bit about the leftovers?" asked Alice. Jasper was having a particularly long vision involving us in the clearing we had all separated, and later met in on our hunting trips. It seemed he was following each of our progress as we tried to track the scents we had followed last night, but to no success.

"Yes, that was—Jasper what do you see?" Edward broke off. By the twitch of his eyebrows, I knew it bothered him not just to be able to see what Jasper was seeing.

"Jazz, what is it?" Alice questioned, touching his shoulder. Jasper, still locked into the vision didn't answer. He was a bit too focused, I supposed.

"Apparently searching the places we hunted last night will not get us any results," I supplied for my curious family. "Even if we split up" I added as Jasper's vision continued.

Carlise promptly promised to look up some books on local lore to see if anything might pertain to vampiric supernatural talents. In the meantime, we agreed that we should learn to use our mis-matched gifts.

"it's the only step we can take at the moment. You four can't go on like this, paralyzed by having the wrong gifts. I can't think what's done it, but until we find out, you four have got to learn to use what you've got. If we stand a chance of figuring this out, it will be because we used _all_ our assets, no matter where they might be placed," Carlisle advised. _Besides, none of you will be very much help to anyone until you can control the gifts you have now._ He added mentally. I winced, knowing it was true.

"I suggest you all go out on the lawn and try to work your powers out. Help each other learn," Carlisle continued, "if you need anything at all, I shall be in my study" His perfectly angelic face was lined with concern. Esme's was a concentrated echo of that concern.


	9. Chapter Nine Practice Makes Perfect

_**Chapter Nine—Practice Makes Perfect**_

_Can you hear me now?_ Emmett called, standing five feet from me, next to Edward. He was recalling the amusing Verizon commercial as he spoke, reciting the line with the spokesman in the commercial. I rolled my eyes. Apparently that was another thing Edward had picked up after becoming a vampire.

"Yes, Emmett," I sighed. Edward looked disgruntled.

"You'll get it Edward. You just need to get angry," I assured him.

"Don't sweat it, bro, it's bound to be hard—it's not supposed to be your thing," said Emmett, clapping Edward on the back. _Maybe if he loosens up a bit later, I can take him on. I'd like to see him cheat now._

"Emmett! Can you focus, _please_," I asked, my head leaning to one side. I wondered if that was why he had volunteered to help us when he got home from school; trying to find an excuse to fight Edward. Rosalie was sitting on the enormous front porch, pretending to read a novel that was written the year she was born. She was really paying attention to Emmett, Edward, and I.

_Alright, sorry. Maybe we need to give him more incentive? _Emmett wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. I felt my own eyebrows push together in confusion.

"What do you mean more incentive?"

"Incentive?" Edward echoed, perplexed.

Emmett laughed. "What do I think about that usually makes you want to rip my head off, kid?" Emmett replied, accompanying this with a waggle of his eyebrows that I unfortunately knew all too well.

"Holy _Crow!_" I gasped as I was assaulted by a vivid stream of mental pictures detailing exactly what Emmett and Rose did last night. My eyes widened. I could not block this ghastly vision from my mind. I instinctively shut them to close it out, but that only made it worse.

Edward, guessing this, growled, and nearly snapped. I could tell he was very close to breaking point.

"Use it. Use the anger," I cried, and suddenly, all was silent, and I was alone in my own head once more. I sighed in vast relief. I dropped to the ground to sit, and relax. Edward looked like he was straining himself.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I know how hard it is." He smiled crookedly, and dropped to his knees as well, so he could look more easily into my eyes, from the vantage of five feet away. S

"It's the least I can do, love. _I_ know how hard it is as well," he said gently. He was trying to hide it, and perhaps could have hidden it, if I had been human still. But I wasn't, and he couldn't, and there _was_ a hint of strain in his voice.

After a moment of strain that was as difficult for me as Edward, knowing, as I did, how hard it was to learn to manipulate my shield, Renesmee let out the saddest-sounding sigh I had ever heard in my life—vampire or otherwise. Edward's concentration snapped and I could hear Emmett's thoughts again, but I was suddenly tuned in to Renesmee.

Her thoughts weren't words, they were just emotions. Sad ones. The saddest emotions I had ever felt even vicariously. At least the saddest since the time that Edward misguidedly left me for my own good. I was stricken myself with despair and fright for my child. Then I heard Jasper think. _Oh no. Overdoing it._ A picture of Renesmee sobbing with Edward and me growling at Alice and Jasper entered his mind.

Meanwhile, Alice was thinking, Nessie_! How_ _do_ _I fix it? How do I fix it! _

"Alice, try to think about being calm again. Close your eyes and think about breathing slowly. There you go," he added as Alice did just that and thought about her breathing.

As Alice breathed, Edward and I rushed to Nessie's side

While Emmett and I had been practicing with Edward, Alice was using Renesmee as a test-dummy to work with emotions. Jasper was helping her, although he was sporadically interrupted by visions, usually tiny, inconsequential ones. They had been getting less frequent as they had been practicing longer.

"Nessie, are you okay? Renesmee!" I cried, overreacting even more ridiculously than Edward, who was sensibly patting our daughter's back, as her breathing returned to normal, and the tears disappeared from her eyes.

"That was not funny, Alice," I snapped. Alice frowned. _I wasn't trying to make her upset, Bella, I was trying for nicer emotions. _

"It was an accident Bella," Jasper answered. _I was trying to teach Alice to spread a feeling around, but I forgot to teach her to cultivate the feeling she wants first. She was sad for a long enough moment to accidentally spread them about. _ I watched this replay in Alice and Jasper's minds. For people who looked so different, their thoughts were incredibly alike.

Edward always describe his mind-reading as "extra-hearing", and it was mostly like hearing people's voices in my head, however, I found that it was more than that, there were often pictures, scenes, memories, mental images of all kinds accompanying the words like illustrations to a text. But more, there was _intent_, a kind of flavor to every thought that held emotions, intentions. It was the intentions that flavored Alice and Jasper's thoughts, even more than their explanation, and mental replay that had me apologizing to Alice and Jasper. Perhaps the mind-reading contributed to Edward's over protectiveness.

We practiced all night through to be prepared for school the next day. A brief consultation with Carlisle (after he returned from perusing the local Library's history section, when the library closed) led to the decision that it would not be good for us to miss too much school just at the beginning of the year, especially right after moving here. So we practiced more and more determinedly as the world turned blue and purple, and then faded back to green and gray.


End file.
